- Eagle Point provides an initial fire assessment; four of five lifts sustained damage.
- Less than a month after a tower was bent on the Tamarack Express, Leitner-Poma and Tamarack install a whole new tower with the lift set to reopen tomorrow.
- The Goldbelt Tram remains closed following an April crash now reported to be caused by inexperienced staff mistakes.
- The story of how a small town in Arkansas got an $8.5 million detachable serving 280 vertical feet.
- Hawaii officially bans commercial chairlifts, gondolas and tramways statewide.
- The family of a child killed on a Quebec chairlift last winter speaks out.
- Deer Valley outlines the next two years of East Village development.
- Donner Ski Ranch offers free lift tickets to guests who photograph distracted lift operators.
- Mont-Sainte-Anne’s upcoming bubble six pack to be named L’Évolution Express.
- Several prominent Vail residents join Matthew Prince’s criticism of Vail Resorts infrastructure and trajectory.
- A filing reveals the precise alignment for Kicking Horse’s recently announced Pioneer Express.
- The Forest Service to host a Waterville Valley expansion open house on July 15th.
- OITAF’s Ropeway Innovations symposium to be held in Park City next June.
Vail Resorts
News Roundup: Owned & Operated
- Lost Trail, Montana/Idaho seeks permission to replace Chair 1, Chair 2 and Chair 4 with high speed quads and utilize retired equipment for a new beginner lift.
- Aerial footage shows Eagle Point’s lifts still standing after wildfire but with unknown heat damage.
- Vail Resorts vigorously defends its owned and operated network model.
- New York’s Governor forms an exploratory committee for hosting the 2042 Winter Olympics.
- The Getty Museum in Los Angeles announces a Doppelmayr automated people mover.
- Lutsen Mountains begins charging extra for private gondola cabins and priority boarding.
- Donner Ski Ranch asks guests to report lift operators distracted by cell phones.
- Leitner to reach more than 40 miles of urban gondolas throughout Mexico.
- The Forest Service approves Telluride’s proposed replacements for lifts 7 and 8.
News Roundup: Around the USA
- Alberta conceptually approves the master plan for a Fortress Mountain reboot.
- Waterville Valley and the Forest Service to host a public meeting regarding a proposed gondola on June 26th.
- Revelstoke will host an info session on the future of the resort June 24th.
- Cannon Mountain issues a request for bids for an 80 passenger tramway reusing certain components from the last tram with an expected completion date of December 1, 2028.
- Amid bankruptcy, Whitecap Mountains lists a disused CTEC for sale.
- Vail Resorts reportedly hires takeover defense bankers.
- Alterra says a new law in Colorado could unlock public funding for a Winter Park town gondola.
- Aspen-Pitkin County Airport’s new terminal design leaves room for a future gondola to town.
- The federal government will fund a new haul rope for Whaleback, New Hampshire’s double chair.
- Both ladder trucks and ropes are used to rescue riders from the skyride at Dutch Wonderland, Pennsylvania.
- Teton County, Wyoming plans an objection to Grand Targhee’s expansion plan.
- A black bear cub climbs a tower on Whistler’s Fitzsimmons 8.
- A new operator plans to reopen Spout Springs, Oregon with help from the family that owns Timberline Lodge.
- Big Sky dismantles parts of Powder Seeker to move the top terminal due to ground movement.
- Lots of construction pictures from readers this week starting with Deer Valley’s Hail Peak expansion:
- Next Caberfae Peaks, Michigan’s expansion lift:
- And finally Powderhorn, Colorado’s Wild West Express:
News Roundup: Doolans
- A damaged tower at Tamarack is expected to take three to five weeks to replace following last week’s “unusual cable entanglement event.”
- Brattleboro Ski Hill in Vermont fundraises for a new Skytrac control system.
- Mont Sutton to auction unique Mueller chairs.
- Roosevelt Island asks the public what to do with original tram cabins.
- Stoneham and Leitner-Poma to complete a CA$1 million renovation of L’Aurore Boréale.
- Mountain Village, Colorado releases a 300 page report detailing local officials’ failed attempt to purchase Telluride Ski Resort.
- Vail Resorts vows not to sell as Matthew Prince continues making his case to acquire Park City.
- Casper, Wyoming expects to order a new chairlift for Hogadon Ski Area this fall.
- Colorado skier visits plunge 24 percent.
- New Hampshire visits rise 5 percent.
- In New Zealand, The Remarkables proposes the nation’s longest gondola.
- A gondola collides with a crane in Austria.
- Enjoy this progress report on the Gelande expansion at Purgatory.
News Roundup: Probes
- The Goldbelt Tram closes indefinitely after cars entered stations at higher than normal speed last night, injuring several employees.
- Powder Haven announces a sixth private chairlift called Foxtrot.
- The Town of Mountain Village continues investigating the circumstances surrounding elected officials’ attempted purchase of Telluride Ski Resort last December.
- Alberta ski resorts worry permanent daylight savings time will reduce competitiveness with other regions.
- New Hampshire launches an investigation into Vail Resorts charging a blended sales tax for passes that include both in state and out-of-state mountains. Vail responds with plans to offer a New Hampshire-only pass tax free.
- Doppelmayr may finance part of a proposed sightseeing gondola in Butte, Montana.
- Lifts at the former Talisman Mountain Resort in Ontario to be demolished.
- Doppelmayr’s latest customer magazine highlights projects at Big Sky and Killington.
- Poma releases its 2025 Reference Book.
- Leitner-Poma previews new North American-specific surface lift and detachable terminal models.
- The only ski area in Tennessee changes its name back to Ober Gatlinburg.
- A local school district may provide 20 percent of funding for a new chairlift at Hogadon, Wyoming.
- London’s urban gondola loses corporate sponsorship and plans a pivot toward tourists.
- Snow Partners to introduce both a national Indy Pass competitor and a Midwest Snow Triple Play.
News Roundup: Pure
- Poma reveals a new gondola cabin called Pure mimicking “egg” cabins from the company’s past.
- In Turkey, eight people are sentenced to prison for negligence related to a deadly 2024 gondola crash.
- Parents in Pennsylvania face felony charges for allowing a five year old who fell off a lift to ride alone.
- Worldwide skier visits reached 399 million in 2024-25, a new record.
- Aspen comments on the status of both Nell Bell and 1A replacement projects.
- Colorado’s new sightseeing and biking gondola to open for public rides on May 9th.
- Doppelmayr reaches €500 million in sales in Vietnam with 32 installations and zero skiing.
- Casper, Wyoming to fund a new chairlift for Hogadon Basin with a mix of public and private money.
- Whaleback, New Hampshire seeks $350,000 in donations to replace a haul rope and perform offseason maintenance.
- A proposal to revive Brodie Mountain, Massachusetts includes four lifts.
- Vail Resorts visitation and revenue trended worse in March and April than earlier in the season; pass sales for next season are also trending down.
- Vail’s new Chief Revenue Officer signals a shift toward improving service and experience at existing resorts.
- A landowner opposes Vail’s efforts to get a lawsuit over Park City lift easments thrown out.
- Steelhead Systems opposes Bluewood, Washington’s efforts to force delivery of lift parts via an injunction.
News Roundup: Spring Winds
- The Hermitage Club’s new detachable quad to cost $6.25 million and include a chair parking facility.
- Oregon ski areas celebrate passage of an outdoor recreation liability reform bill.
- Castle Mountain rope evacuates the new Stagecoach Express.
- An investigation into the fatal Swiss gondola crash this week focuses on weather and operational factors, not a design issue. The lift was being unloaded at the time and the cabin involved likely hit a tower.
- A tree falls on the BreckConnect Gondola at Breckenridge.
- Red Lodge Mountain’s owner and an insurance company argue over coverage related to a wrongful death lawsuit by the family of a man who died on a lift last season in high winds.
- Wind blows the roof off the Silver Fir Express at Snoqualmie, shuttering it until further notice.
- Alberta opens public consultation for the proposed Silvertip Gondola in Canmore.
- Aspen skiers struggle to ride the new T-Bar atop Snowmass.
- Holiday Mountain, New York to install new Partek chairs on Roman Candle this fall.
- A child is unharmed after falling from a lift and being caught at Pats Peak, New Hampshire (video)
- Oz Trails Bike Park to open June 12th.
- Sun Valley confirms construction of two new detachables this summer.
- Lee Canyon to construct the final lift from its master plan this summer, manufacturer TBA.
- Hogadon, Wyoming likely to construct a new chairlift next summer.
- Craigleith, Ontario addresses downtime on the Funnel chair.
- Last day riders of Killington’s Snowdon triple tomorrow will be entered to win a chair.
- Little Switzerland, Wisconsin give skiers the opportunity to own a Riblet chair.
- In an interview with the Vail newspaper, Vail Resorts CEO Rob Katz makes the case mega passes have kept crowds stable or even reduced crowding.
- Vail also releases an insightful investor presentation outlining shifting priorities.
News Roundup: Spring Debuts
- Whaleback’s chairlift is back in action after being closed all season.
- Angel Fire performs a mid-season splice on the Southwest Flyer, now back open.
- A child is okay after falling from a chairlift at Blue Knob, Pennsylvania.
- Another child falls from a chair and is airlifted from Sierra-at-Tahoe.
- Telluride sues several current and former elected officials seeking millions of damages incurred during the December patrol strike.
- The latest Eaglecrest gondola complication: cabins shipped on their side rather than upright.
- The Mighty Argo Cable Car in Colorado will soft open next month.
- OZ Trails Bike Park to open with Arkansas’ first detachable chairlift in June.
- BC’s Okanagan Gondola set to open in April 2027.
- Vail Resorts reports an 11.9 percent decline in North American skier visits and lowers financial guidance.
- Park City Billionaire Matthew Prince still wants to buy Park City Mountain from Vail.
- Alterra CEO Jared Smith steps down.
- Vermont considers regulating both lift operator breaks and staffing levels.
- Leitner to build the world’s first jig-back tramway with a direct drive in Italy.
- Both the Green Mountain Express and North Ridge Express go down at Sugarbush’s Mt. Ellen, leaving hiking as the only access to the summit.
- Black Mountain, New Hampshire won’t become a co-op after all, will continue to be managed by Entabeni Systems.
- Mt. Sima, Yukon to reactivate its T-Bar after many years.
- A massive nearby rockslide closes Whistler’s Peak Chair indefinitely.
- Magic Mountain, Idaho won’t open this season.
News Roundup: Indy to Ikon
- Mountain Capital Partners may enter the Midwest with a deal to operate Spirit Mountain, Minnesota. Under the proposal, MCP would lease the mountain for a minimum of 20 years beginning in October.
- Vail raises Epic Pass prices approximately 3.5 percent, offers a discount to young adults 30 and under.
- Alterra raises Ikon prices roughly 5 percent, adds Tamarack, Idaho and Devil’s Head, Wisconsin to its bonus mountain tier while removing SilverStar, BC.
- Granite Peak, Wisconsin; Lutsen Mountains, Minnesota and Snowriver, Michigan switch from Indy Pass to Ikon Pass.
- Snowmass returns and Arapahoe Basin will go unlimited on the Ikon Base Pass.
- The Wall Street Journal visits Telluride owner Chuck Horning, who says he’s “never selling.”
- The BBC profiles lift operations at Whistler Blackcomb.
- The LA Times visits independent Mt. Baldy, surrounded by Alterra in Southern California.
- SAM digs into how a small Wisconsin ski area went from closed to buying two brand new Skytrac lifts.
- Snowbird will replace Chickadee this spring.
- Pomerelle, Idaho’s General Manager buys the mountain with his wife.
- Shanty Creek, Michigan also sells to new owners.
- The cost of used gondola installation at Eaglecrest balloons from under $9 million to as much as $37 million. A report finds the gondola would make the ski area profitble on an operating basis and canceling the project would cost taxpayers $10.9 million.
- In Iowa, a government-owned ski area fundraises for a brand new chairlift.
- Revelstoke’s Stoke chair to be out of service at least three days for gearbox repair.
- Stagecoach Mountain Ranch inches toward approval near Steamboat.
- The top operator house on Chair 1 at Titus Mountain, New York burns down, rendering the lift inoperable.
News Roundup: Granite State
- Tenney Mountain rope evacuates Hornet.
- Two people are injured falling from the Panorama Express at Gunstock.
- Hatley Pointe, North Carolina loses its main lift due to a mechanical issue.
- Cuchara successfully opens Chair 4 for the first time since 2000.
- Mt. Jefferson, Maine may close after this season.
- The publicly-owned ski hill in Des Moines, Iowa seeks a new chairlift.
- With a strike dragging on, Le Massif announces the end of ski season, then promptly reaches a deal to reopen tomorrow.
- With public and private funding secured, Mont-Sainte-Anne plans to sign a contract to replace three aging detachables in March.
- A mixed-use development near Park City could include a gondola connection to Deer Valley East Village.
- Vail CEO Rob Katz discusses unionization efforts in the ski industry and reflects on last season’s strike at Park City.
- A rider who died after falling from a chairlift at Cypress Mountain last week may have lost consciousness before falling.
- Elected officials are under investigation for meeting with the owner of Telluride about a sale during the patrol strike.
